Participant 20

“Participant 20” raised her grandchildren when her daughter passed away. She advises people to get tested in order to prevent further spread of the virus.

I am 59 years old. I live in the township[s] of Cape Town. Ten years ago I discovered that my 27-year-old daughter was infected with HIV. I was very shocked, not knowing what to do, and at that time I was still in the dark about HIV. I knew my daughter was dying. I didn’t know what to do, but I manage[d] to share with my neighbours, my church collegues, and my fellow workers. They supported me with prayers. She became very sick and there was no help of ARVs at that moment. There was nothing I could do but to wait and pray.

Apparently, I came to Ikamva Labantu for help, and the only help I could get at that time was support. She was fully blown and after a long time she died. I was in a trauma of accepting the death of my daughter and [taking] care of her two children, a boy of 9 and a girl of 3 at that time. I was open about it although I was depressed, but through [counseling] I survived.

I raised those two children out of my income. Now the boy has turned 20 and the girl is 14. They are very beautiful and fortunately they are not infected.

I would like everyone to accept the d[i]sease, but to try and prevent it. If you happen to be HIV[-positive], it is not the end of the world. There is help at the clinics. [I]f you don’t know your status go and get tested before it’s too late.

Beauty’s Vineyard

Originally, ten scholarly essays were published on this blog. These essays discussed how Christian theology can positively inform response to HIV/AIDS, as informed by theological aesthetics. In short, they were crafting a socially engaged theology of Beauty. Those essays have now been greatly expanded and published under the title, Beauty's Vineyard: A Theological Aesthetic of Anguish and Anticipation (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 2016).